


You, Me, and the Mistletoe

by theaveragebear



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M, and a little angst, depending on how you want to look at it, mentions of wives, or infidelity, possible OT4, smut with feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-24 16:39:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17104241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theaveragebear/pseuds/theaveragebear
Summary: Every year at Christmas, Link hangs mistletoe in the hopes that Rhett will trap him under it. It never happens the way he wants it to, but he’s made a tradition out of it anyway.





	You, Me, and the Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mythicaliz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythicaliz/gifts).



> Submitted as a gift for Mythicaliz for Mythical Secret Santa 2018! I'm not sure what happened to this fic, it started out sweet and fluffy and this is where it ended up. I hope you enjoy it! Happy Holidays! 
> 
> *Not beta read, so please forgive my atrocious use of commas.

The front door slams and the sound of it echoes through the house. It’s a lonely sort of sound, in stark contrast to the liveliness of the party that has just ended. Once bright candles have all but burned down, casting dark, flickering shadows across the empty bottles that litter nearly every surface of the house. As he slips the lock into place with a heavy thunk, Rhett has only one thought on his mind.

He tiptoes through the quiet house, careful not to disturb the calm that has settled over it. In the echoey stillness, he hears the foundation settle as the floorboards creak beneath his feet. It's as if the house itself feels the relief that comes with the end of a party, the happy exhaustion of a time well had.  He slips from room to room, wondering where Link could be hiding.

Having polished off nearly two bottles of champagne between them, Jessie and Christy had retired about an hour ago, Jessie to her own bed and Christy to the guest room, both shout-singing carols and giggling as they went. It’s possible Link has followed suit, but Rhett’s got a feeling he’s here somewhere, waiting to be found.

As he turns the corner from the living room, Rhett finds the man he’s been looking for in the exact place he left him a couple of hours earlier. He’s leaning against the frame of the arched passage at the top of the small set of stairs, silhouetted by the twinkling white lights that wind up and around the entryway.  
  
For once in his life, Rhett is unsure what to say. He moves into the doorway and leans against the opposite side, facing Link for the first time since they had been so publicly interrupted earlier.  
  
They'd been in the middle of some ridiculous debate, the details of which are not worth remembering. What Rhett does remember is that mid-argument, Link stopped talking. He went quiet for a moment and then without warning or hesitation, stepped up and kissed Rhett square on the mouth. It was chaste, little more than a friendly peck on the lips, but Rhett could feel the heat of Link’s soft lips, could taste his breath as they lingered in each other’s space. As if by instinct, Rhett found his hands drawn to Link’s hips, tugging him closer. There must’ve been a million questions written across Rhett’s face, because Link raised his brows and tilted his face upward, leading Rhett's gaze toward the mistletoe precariously dangling from the archway. As if it was nothing, Link shrugged impishly and whispered, “Merry Christmas, buddy.”  Rhett blinked down at him, his eyes watery with confusion. At the edges of his vision, he could see a few people staring and could hear a smattering of applause and cheers. None of it registered, though, the sound of it muffled behind the deafening bewilderment he felt.

From across the room, Rhett heard someone groan, “Ugh…finally!” The voice, which sounded suspiciously like his wife’s, snapped him back to reality.

Link--that mischievous grin still splashed across his face--stepped out of the doorway, took a little bow and shouted "Happy Holidays! Show's over!" into the crowd of gawking friends and co-workers. Without looking back at Rhett he made his way into the room, cracking a series of self-deprecating jokes, seemingly writing the whole thing off as some sort of holiday prank.

As Link slipped away, devoured by the group of people being won over by his effortless charm, Rhett stood frozen in the doorway, unsure what to make of what had just happened. He felt a bit blindsided, as though he was on the outside of an inside joke.   
  
For Link, however, this had been a long time coming.  
  
They were nineteen the first time Link remembers wanting to kiss Rhett. They'd gotten dressed up for NC State’s Winter Formal, their ill-fitting suits hanging slack from their sharp teenage shoulders. In their cramped dorm room, clouds of cheap cologne wafted through the open door of the bathroom as they took turns coiffing their hair. As soon as Link stepped out of the bathroom, his hair appropriately fluffed, Rhett smiled brightly and clapped him on the shoulder, telling him he looked ‘real sharp’. Link remembers how those few words made him blush, and how long it took him to figure out why.

At the after party, Link watched from across the dimly lit room as Rhett wrapped his arms around the girl he’d brought to the party, whose name Link can’t remember. All he remembers is Rhett's long arms and how he thought they’d feel wrapped around him. From a shadowy corner, he watched Rhett point up at the mistletoe they happened to find themselves under before dipping down and pressing his lips to hers, pulling her in closer and closer until their bodies were pressed together. As Rhett deepened the kiss, crowding his date against the door frame, Link could feel it in his own body.

Later he’d made some stupid joke out of it, smearing his face with dip and dragging Rhett under the mistletoe, roaring, “C’mon man, I dare ya!” That won a few hollers from their classmates, but Rhett shoved him aside forcefully, a dark look in his eye.

That night, for the first time, Link had let his thoughts wander. He let himself imagine what it would be like for Rhett to kiss him. He wondered if he’d be soft and sweet like he’d been with his date or if he’d be rougher. He thought about all the times they’d wrestled and how aggressive Rhett had been. He pictured it a thousand different ways: Rhett shoving him against the wall, Rhett’s hands on his face, Rhett’s tongue in his mouth, in his ear, on his neck. He thought about how one kiss might lead to more and used his own hands to act out what he wanted Rhett to do to him. His eyes fluttered closed and he wondered if Rhett could hear him from the bottom bunk as he slipped himself out of his boxers.

Now, every year at Christmas, he hangs mistletoe in the hopes that Rhett will trap him under it. It never happens the way he wants it to, but he’s made a tradition out of it anyway. Surreptitiously he hangs a sprig of mistletoe, usually at his own house, sometimes at Rhett’s. A few times he’s brazenly hung it in their office, hiding it among other holiday decorations, hoping Rhett will notice what it is and why it’s there. He never does, and Link has to make do with locking himself away, finding brief, frustrating satisfaction in his own hands and imagination.

He’s not sure what came over him this year. Maybe it was the third glass of champagne acting as liquid courage.  Maybe he’d just had enough of fantasizing and was finally ready to act on his desire. He’s always been so impulsive, it’s a feat of restraint that he’s managed to hold himself back for this long. That doesn’t stop his heart from hammering in his chest for the rest of the party. It doesn’t stop him from doing everything possible to avoid being in the same room as Rhett for the next few hours. He runs through all the things he’ll tell Rhett; _it was a dare, he was just drunk, Stevie told him to do it--she wanted to film it as a prank_. None of these possible responses seem like they’ll be enough to get him off the hook, but he wants to be prepared. As the last few guests filter out, he runs out of places to hide. He thinks about sneaking off to bed and never mentioning it again, but that doesn’t seem fair. For all he knows Rhett is furious with him. Maybe that’s good, a fight might be helpful. It could push him to say all the things he’s never been able to.

From his hiding place in the laundry room, he hears Rhett usher out the last guest with calls of “Get home safe!” and “Merry Christmas!” He creeps back out into the house, double-checking a few rooms to make sure everyone has truly left. For the sake of symmetry, he tiptoes back under the arch between the dining room and the parlor, where he’d so recklessly kissed Rhett just a few hours ago.

That’s where Rhett finds him. Link watches with careful eyes as Rhett approaches. He searches for clues that Rhett might be upset with him, but it’s hard to read his body language. Rhett leans against the opposite pillar, arms folded across his chest. He won't look Link in the eye, as though he’s uncertain of what he’ll discover there. Just as Link is about to speak, about to break the horrible silence with one of his thin, poorly planned excuses, Rhett moves. They finally make eye contact as Rhett steps toward him, and Link can see that Rhett’s not angry. His eyes are dark, but it’s a different kind of fury Link finds in them.

Without thinking, Link reaches for him, tugging at Rhett’s shirt and pulling him in. Without speaking, Rhett leans down and touches his lips to Link’s. It’s soft at first, not much different from the peck Link gave him earlier. Link lets it stay that way for a moment, feeling Rhett’s breath on his lips, the comfortable scratch of Rhett’s beard against his own stubble. Unsatisfied, Link licks into Rhett’s mouth, opening his eyes to scan his face, see how much Rhett is willing to give him. He finds Rhett pliable, and soon the kiss becomes deep and wet, a gnashing collision of teeth and tongues. They both are so used to leading that it takes them a moment to find a good rhythm. Eventually, they figure it out, Link backing off and Rhett diving in more earnestly than Link expected.  

From there, it’s easy. Rhett kisses down Link’s jaw, licking the sweat from his neck, teasing his ear with sharp teeth. Their hands become greedy, twisting and pulling at each other's shirts. Rhett’s clumsy fingers fumble over the buttons on Link’s shirt and he gasps when he finally finds the skin he’s been searching for. With careful hands, he slips Link’s shirt off his shoulders and makes quick work of removing his own t-shirt. They crash back together, the first skin to skin contact between them drawing mutual sighs of breathy relief.

Link lets Rhett take the lead, he knows what he wants, but never imagined that Rhett would let him have it. He has so many questions but bites his tongue for the time being, reveling in the act of not over-thinking for once. He lets his hands and body speak for him, hauling Rhett in close as he curls his hips into him. With all his restrained strength, Rhett meets him there, dragging out the sweet--though somehow still partially clothed--contact they’re both craving.

Pulling back, Link leans in for a hurried kiss before working his way down the expanse of Rhett’s chest, pausing to appreciate the view as he goes. Long fingers coil in soft blonde hair as he licks and bites at the soft flesh of Rhett’s sensitive belly, earning a chorus of giggles accented with gentle moans of approval.

On his knees, Link finally speaks, a soft one-word utterance as he yanks at Rhett’s pants--“Off”--and Rhett obeys. They eye each other as Rhett moves agonizingly slow. The sound of his zipper seems to echo, bouncing off the walls of the empty space. Link suddenly realizes how exposed they are, framed under the open archway by bright Christmas lights, but he can’t be bothered to care.

Impatient, his restless fingers take over for Rhett, sliding his pants down and letting them pool at his feet. Link’s fingers slip into the elastic band of Rhett’s underwear, feeling the skin there, the thin cotton fabric the last remaining barrier between the start of something new and the end of everything that came before. Link looks up tentatively, needing reassurance that he should take the next step, from which he knows there is no turning back. He finds Rhett nodding in consent, knowing what must be on Link’s mind without him needing to speak it. That’s all Link needs to push forward and pull it all away, nuzzling his face into Rhett’s hip, his breath hot on the newly unveiled skin.

Uncertain at first, Link uses his hands in tandem with his mouth, gaining confidence as he pulls gruff sounds deep from Rhett’s chest. Link licks up the length of him, root to tip, briefly appreciating the weight against his tongue. From his vantage point, he enjoys watching Rhett fall apart above him. Any doubts Link had about Rhett wanting this, about their feelings and desires being mutual disappear when Rhett’s eyes flutter closed and his head drops back against the archway. Rhett’s hands search for purchase but come up empty as he realizes there’s no wall behind him. Link reaches up to gently guide Rhett’s hands to his head. Stunned for a moment, Rhett slowly picks up on what it is that Link wants. They grin at each other as Rhett twists his fingers through Link’s hair, pulling--gently at first, testing his limits, then more and more roughly--at the silvery strands as Link’s wet mouth gets back to work.  

Link smiles around him, hands and lips and teeth and tongue accomplishing their goal of pushing Rhett further and further toward the edge. It’s not enough, though, and Rhett, suddenly insatiable, needs more. He flips their positions and crowds Link against the door frame, his hands finally finding something solid as they brace the pillar above Link’s head. From this angle, he can take what he wants, driving in as far as Link will let him. The first few times earn him equal amounts of groans and gags, but Link’s determined, he wants to take everything Rhett gives him, wants to show him the depth of his appetite.  He lets it get messy, lets the saliva drip from his tongue, down his chest, some of it pooling on the floor between his knees.

With a busy mouth, Link lets his hands explore, twitchy fingers tracing long, hot, lines up the impossible length of Rhett’s legs, gripping his thighs and squeezing at his backside. One finger dips down the gentle curve of Rhett’s ass, teasing at his most sensitive places, causing Rhett’s knees to go weak. As one finger slips inside him, he moans into the emptiness of the space around them, and the force of it seems to rattle the windows.

Link smiles and stands up to cup Rhett’s face and press a finger against his lips.

“Shh, baby,” he whispers into Rhett’s ear, producing a shiver that works its way down Rhett’s body.

“ _Baby_?” Rhett breathes back. With a hooded stare, Rhett presses Link back against the archway. His shoulder blades fit perfectly against it, and though Rhett’s digging into him, seeking out an impossible response against Link’s rough jeans, it’s oddly comfortable.

“Yeah. Why? You don’t like that?” Link’s trying to come off as teasing, but the thinness of his voice betrays him, gives away how out of control he is.

“No...no, I do. Probably too much.”

“ _Oh_? Guess I’ll have to start using it more often then, _baby_.” Link pauses to gauge Rhett’s reaction and is spurred on by the blush that creeps its way up Rhett’s chest and neck.  “Baby, baby, baby…”

He’s cut off by Rhett’s mouth hot against his. There’s nothing tentative about their kisses anymore, their thirst for each other quickly turning frantic. Link tastes blood as Rhett pulls at his lips with his teeth, but he’s already so light-headed it doesn’t even matter.

Rhett digs his fingers into Links hips and smooths his palms over his backside, attempting to lift him up before becoming frustrated by Link’s too tight jeans that he’s _still_ wearing. They work together to get Link out of them as fast as possible, Link nearly toppling over in the process. Finally freed, the air is cool on Link’s bare skin. He shudders against it, exposed and vulnerable in the flickering light. There’s no time to get lost in the moment, though, as Rhett picks up where he left off, hoisting Link off his feet. Instinctively, Link wraps his legs tight around Rhett’s waist as he’s sandwiched between Rhett and the pillar behind him. All thought is swept from his mind as Rhett grinds his pelvis down into him for the first time, the contact gained between them proving exhilarating. Link wraps his arms around Rhett’s neck to drag him in even closer as Rhett drives them forward at an erratic pace.

“Your back’s gonna hurt tomorrow,” Link murmurs through clenched teeth.

“Mmm...totally worth it.”

It doesn’t prove to be sustainable, though. Rhett releases him and Link whines at the loss of contact before Rhett flips him around. This feat of strength surprises Link again and he has to catch himself from falling by bracing against the pillar. Before he has time to recover, he’s overwhelmed by Rhett sliding up behind him, long pointed tongue licking up the length of his spine as one hand slips around to grip him for the first time. Rhett whispers softly into Link’s ear as he works him up, a string of filthy words Link can barely comprehend spilling out of him. It’s enough to take him to the edge--the dirty words and the powerful sensation of Rhett’s hand on him--and he’s ready, so ready to give in, to let go, but Rhett pulls back at the last moment, leaving him gasping for air.

Link rests his forehead against the cool plaster, deep breaths rattling through his lungs as he tries to regain some semblance of control over himself. Just when he starts to feel stable again, Rhett returns, a cool, slick finger pressing against him. Link twists around to meet his gaze just as Rhett whispers, “Please?”

Link’s nodding before the word even leaves Rhett’s mouth.

Link commits to it, leans back into it, arching as Rhett slips in, carefully, one saliva slick finger at a time. It takes some time for Link to get acclimated, but each press of Rhett’s fingers releases something in him, unlocks a part of him he’s kept hidden for so long. By the end he’s growling into it, eager for more. Satisfied that Link is ready, Rhett pulls away, working himself over as Link contorts to watch him. Rhett slides one hand over Link’s sweat sticky back to steady himself. The sight of Rhett, hair wild with lust, body trembling in anticipation of what’s to come, fills Link with an overwhelming wave of joy and appreciation. How did the events of this night, of this month, of this year, come to this? He’s wanted this for so long, it never occurred to him how he’d feel if it actually happened. And suddenly he doesn’t want it like this. He needs to see Rhett’s face, needs to taste his lips again. He spins around and lowers himself onto the cool linoleum, dragging a dazed Rhett on top of him. He wraps his legs around Rhett’s waist once again, pulling him down into a deep kiss as he coaxes Rhett inside him. Their breath is heavy with self-restraint as Link opens around him, giving in to the exquisite release of it, his body conforming to Rhett’s.

Before long they’re moving together, torturously slow at first, building strength and speed, Rhett driving them forward, Link pulling them back. Rhett threads his fingers with Links, pinning his hands above his head as they hurtle towards the end together. Rhett gets there first, his orgasm taking him by surprise, washing through him like a wave, familiar and warm. With the help of Rhett’s willing mouth, Link follows soon after, coming down Rhett’s throat with a deep groan.

Rhett rests his head against Link’s belly as they catch their breath. The house seems quieter than it had before, and more empty. He feels Link fingers brush his hair from his sticky forehead and he has to resist the urge to fall asleep right there on the floor under the twinkle lights. Pressing up to kiss Link once more, he wants to ask so many questions but doesn’t want to hear the answers.

“What now?”

“Well,” Link begins, “For starters, maybe next year you can kiss me under the mistletoe for real?”

Rhett chuckles, knowing there’s a lot that needs to happen between now and then. But he’s happy not to think about all that just yet.

“We can probably make that happen,” Rhett answers, sitting up to find their pants. He tosses Link’s to him, hitting him square in the face.

Link stands, whacking Rhett in the legs in retaliation before pulling him in for one last kiss. He starts to slink away, but Rhett pulls him back in, wrapping his arms around him from behind.

“You promise?” Link asks again. “Next year? You, me, and the mistletoe?”

“If you’re there, I’m there,” Rhett whispers into Link’s hair, “It’s a date.”


End file.
